Today on the podcast, Sean talks about small groups and the idea of waiting until week three to start them.
With the start of a new school year for Elevate it means that we separate the preteens into new small groups. This year, thanks to an idea from Jaime Santos, we decided to hold off in making those small groups until week 3. We sent off the kids those first two weeks in groups based on gender and grade with all the leaders that will be leading that age and gender group. With a smaller group of preteens it might work better for you to send them off just by gender.
With the first couple of weeks at schools holding Back to School Nights and people just taking time to settle in to returning to a midweek service it allowed everyone time to get settled down before splitting up. Secondly, it gave the leaders a chance to get to know the preteens that would be in their groups. It allowed or us to visually see potential conflicts between kids or groups that might be a distraction if they were together. We also didn’t put the inconsistent kids together so that groups would be more equal consistently. How do you determine your small groups? Let us know.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast, Sean talks with Pastor Chris about a recent lesson about acting on what you believe.
Sean and Chris recently tag team taught in Elevate. The night was all about not just saying what you believe but actually acting on what you believe. In today's podcast, Sean and Chris review the night and the different aspects of the service. Some of these pieces of the night might be useful for your ministry.
The night was tied into Matthew 26 scripture, about close friends of Jesus, one betrayed him, all abandoned him and one denied him. Additionally, they brought in Matthew 10:32-33 about denying Jesus he will deny you to his father.
Here is the link to the video we used.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast, Sean talks with Mindy Caliguire from Soul Care about taking care of your own souls in the midst of ministry.
Mindy explains this idea of Soul Care. The basic idea of Soul Care is what are you doing to intentionally reconnect moment by moment and day by day with God’s presence in your life. Growing with God is about intimacy and relationship. Key point is if we don’t find a way of life to allow our souls to continually be replenished by God, we will burn out or get annoyed by the vary people we are there to serve. Care for your souls as much as you care for your physical health. If you want more information about Soul Care check out their website here.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.
Today on the podcast, Sean speaks about the idea of giving preteens space to organize their thoughts.
Preteens are a mess some times because of all the changes going on in their minds and bodies. The preteen years are the biggest change in a persons’ life beside the ages of 0-2. Because of these rapidly changing thoughts and feelings, preteens don’t have a way of organizing them, they may not even have words to explain them. If preteens are not given the opportunity to organize their thoughts about God, they may never know what and why to believe something. We are great at giving input to them but we need to give them a chance to reflect otherwise we are just adding to the craziness in their heads.
Where can you offer space in your ministry to allow the preteens to organize their thoughts? Small groups are one place of opportunity, allow them to talk with their peers about their thoughts. A second option is a writing prompt at the end of a lesson, either on a card or a poster response station. By allowing them to publish their thoughts and feelings we are allowing them to organize and own their thoughts and feelings.
Have a question about preteen ministry or a unique preteen ministry idea that we can feature on our podcast? Send it to podcast@fourfivesix.org. Looking for a great community of preteen leaders that you can plug into? Join us at http://fourfivesix.org/.